Escapement mechanism.



J. E. MOLLE. ESCAPEMENT MBCHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FBBJO, 1913.

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Patented Jan. 13, 1914.

v. t 1L 1% g//fa InventorA J. E( MOLLE. ESGAPEMENT MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED FEBJO, 1913. 1,084,160. Patented Jan. 13, 1914.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 13, 1914.

Application lcd February 10, 1913. Serial No. 747,505.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. MOLLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at `Wausau, in the county of Marathon and State of Wisconsin, have -invented a new and useful Escapement Mechanism, of which the following is a specitication.

This invent-ion relates to typewriters such as disclosed in an application filed by me in the United States Patent Otlice on August 3, 1908, renewed lDecember 12, 1911, Serial No. 655,378.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a novel form of escapement or feed mechanism whereby the platen and carriage of the machine are fed longitudinally with an intermittent movement upo-n the successive depression of the keys of the machine.

A further object is to provide escapement mechanism simple and compact in construction and which produces but little noise while in operation.

A further object is to provide escapement mechanism which will not readily get out of order and the parts of' which are 'easily accessible, and which is provided with separate means under the control of the printing keys and the spacing key respectively for actuating-it, irrespective of the elevation of the carriage relative to the support ing frame.

'With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the cornbination and arrangeirent of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter dee scribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1n the accompanying drawings the preferred forni of the invention has been shown.

ln said drawings Figure l is a vertical section through the machine, and showing in elevation the escapement and means for operating it from one of the printing keys and from the spacing key, t-he carriage being also shown in elevation. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the escapement mechanism and adjacent parts. Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the escapement wheel, the cam lever being shown in section. Fig. 4 is a section on line A-B Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a detail view of the front end of the space bar mechanism. Fig. 6 is a detail view of a modified form of type bar.A

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates a rectangular frame constituting the support for the entire machine and at the front of which is arranged a bank of keys 3 the stems 4 of which are guided near their upper ends in perforations 5 formed in a stepped platform 6 secured to the frame 1 in any suitable inanner. Back ot the bank of keys 3 and the platform G is arranged the front wall 7 and the side walls l8 of .i compartment in which the type levers 9 are normally contained. rlhe type lever compartment is open at the top and also has an aroshaped opening 10 at the front so that the type levers, which are themselves arranged in an arc-shaped series, are exposed to view and are readily accessible for cleaning.

Each of the type levers 9 is formed in a thin strip having its free end otfset, as indicated, said oii'set carryinga head 11 which, in the present instance, contains upper and lower case type and also a third type. The other end of the bar 9 is enlarged to form a tapered head 12- extending at an angle to the main portion of the bar and provided, on its upper edge, with an inclined shoulder 11', or if preferred, provided xwith a rounded projection indicated at 205 in F ig. 6.

he heads of the type bars are pivoted, as at 12 within slots 13 formedv in the frontedge of an arc-shaped bed or support 14 forfx ing the basket or cradle for the type bars. The type bars are thin and fiat and fit snugly but easily in the slots 13 and, in order to reduce friction, the contacting surface of the head of each type bar may be reduced in extent as by means of perfora tions, 9', or otherwise. The bed 14 may be supported fixedly in any suitable manner and the front or free ends ,of the type bars or levers are normally supported upon another arc-shaped bed 16 provided with a facing of felt or any other suitable mate# rial having a soft surface, as indicated at 18, this bed being supported in any suitable manner.

The easing 18 constitutes a noiseless butler for the type bars when they return to their normal positions.

The back ends 19 of the type levers are connected by links 2O to an angle arm 21 formed on the rear end of a flat bar 22, which latter extends to near the. front end of the machine and is there provided with another angle arm or extension '24 through the free end of which passes a right angle bend 25 of the corresponding stem j4 of a key 3. The bar 22 is mounted to rock upon a rod 26 supported at one end in a strut 27 extending laterally across the frame near its front end, and at the other end this rod 26 passes through another strut 28 extending laterally through the frame near its rear end. This strut 28 is formed with a rear wall 29 spaced from the front wall thereof and filled with some non-resonant material 30. Between the arms 21and24 of the bar 22 and the contiguous walls of the struts 27 and 28 the vrod 26 carries a compressionspring 31 so that the bar 22 is elastically centered upon the rod 26 with relation to its position longitudinally thereon. Each angle extension 25 of the stem 4 of a key has fast to it' a spring 32, the other end of whichis fast to a fixed portion of the frame 1. Now, it will be seen that when a' key is depressed the spring 32 is extended and at the same time the bar 22 is rocked upon its pivotal support in such manner as to draw the link 20 downward pulling t-he rear end of a type lever with it, and said type lever is moved on its pivot 12 in such manner as to bring its printing head containing the type to a vertical position to cause it to imprint upon paper arranged in its path in a manner to be described.

Preferably two uprights 71 are arranged on the sides of the main frame 1 near the rear thereof and the upper portions of these uprights are movably engaged by rollers 7,6 journaled within yokes 75, These yokes depend from the end portions of a main supporting bar 39 which forms the connection between the two side arms 72 of a triangular frame constituting the carriage support. Two rails 38 and 41 are connected to and 'are parallel with the main bar 39, elongated st-uds 42 beingprovided for this purpose. These rails constitute the track on which the carriage, indicated generally at 34, is adapted to travel. The said car.- riage carries a rack bar 61 and is adapted to be propelled in one direction by a spring drawn band or the like such as commonly employed and which has not been shown. The rack bar 61 is movable about the pivot of a depending bar 60 which can be shifted so as to move the bar 61 toward or away from the escapement mechanism which will be hereinafter described. f

As the normal position of the platen on the carriage issuch that it is to be engaged by the printing characters on the type bars that are nearest the pivotal points of the bars, as set forth in my application herein- .hereinafter appear. A spring before mentioned, it will be apparent that, in order to bring the other characters on the bar into operative relation with 'the platen, it is necessary to adjust the platen and its carriage upwardly in a vertical plane to the required extent. rThe mechanism utilized for eifecting this adjustment of the carriage does not constitute any part of the present invention. It might be stated, however, that one means employed for shifting the carriage vertically can consist of a rock shaft 83 having an arm 84 fixed thereon and connected to the stem 4 of a shifting key 3 which corresponds to the set of printing characters to which belongs the character to be printed. The rear end of the shaft 83 is provided with an arm 98 connected by a link 99 to the triangular frame heretofore referred to and which is made up of the downwardly converging arms 72. It will be seen-that when shaft 83 is rotated by the depression of key 3 and arm 84, t-he frame made Yup of the arms 72 will be elevated, thereby causing the rollers 76 to travel along the uprights 71. 'Wings -77 extend from each yoke and embrace the adjacentuprights so as to confine the movement of the frame 72 to a vertical plane.

Coincident with each slot 13 of the bar 14 there is a perforation through this bar and in the perforation is seated a longitudinallyv movable pin 115 in position to be engaged by a type bar or lever 9 when the latter is moved to the upright position under the action of its key. In the path of the rear ends of all the pins 115 is the edge of an arcshaped strip 116 constituting a universal bar, supported by arms 117 extending rearwardly and themselves supported at their free ends by upright rock arms 118 fast to and rising from a rock shaft 119 journaled in the upper ends o`f posts 120 rising from and fast to the rear member of the frame 1. Midway of its vlength the strip 116 carries an arm 124 to which is pivoted the upper end of a link 126 .pivoted at its lower end to a bracket 123 on the rear member of frame 1. This link has on its front face, that is, on the face toward the front of the machine, a bearing plate 127 for a purpose which will 122 engages the bracket 123 and link 126 to hold the link and lthe strip 116, normally ressed forward. It will now be seen that \w ien a type lever is moved to the upright position a corresponding pin will be forced rearwardly and the strip 116 will participate in this rearward movement but that the rearward movement will be resisted by the spring 122 so that the strip 116 will be returned t'o normal-position as soon as the type bar returns toward its normal position.

Fast on the curved bed 14 about midway of its length is an upright flatstandard 128 having its extreme upper end turned to form recesso a horizontal extension toward the front, as indicated at 129, and this extension constitutes a guide or pocket for receiving the type bars or levers when they are moved to the upright position and for guiding them into a true position of alinement with the imprints already made on the paper carried by the platen. This upright 128 carries on its rear face a ribbon guide 131 mounted for vertical reciproeation, which has'not been shown in detail because it constitutes no part of the present invention.

Formed on the guide 131 is a' bracket- 139 adapted to receive one end of a lever 141 pivoted at 142 to a block 143 fast to and depending from the bar 39 before'referred to. Projecting from the block 43 and extending alo-ng side the lever` 141 is an ear 144 having a slotted guide plate 206 through which lever 141 extends, said lever being pulled down by a spring 207. A cam lever or pallet 146 is pivoted at 145 to ear 144 and the lower end of this lever extends downwardly and carries a roller 147 lying close to arm 124 in such manner that when the stri 116 is moved by a type lever or bar the pal et 146 participates in the movement, being turned on its pivot 145. |lihe finger 148 of the pallet 146 carries a roller 148 which is contacted by the lower edge of the lever 141 so that when the pallet 146 is moved about its pivot the lever 141 is also moved about its pivotand causes the ribbon carrier to move upward a distance sufficient to bring it between the printing'charaeter on the type bar he'ad and the platen. New,v

since the block 143 is fast upon the bar39, and since this latter bar is adjustable vertically as before described, it will be seen that the lever 141 and pallet 146 likewise participate in its vertical movement, and the ribbon guide will be elevated with the triangular frame of which the bar 39 is a member, but at the same time the relation of the levers 141 and 146 remains constant. also, the relation of the strip 116 to the roller 147 on the pallet 146 likewise remains constant because of the extended bearing surface provided for by the plate 124.

The block 143 has a vertical journal bearing formed in it for the elongated hub 149 of a ratchet or scape wheel 150, and this hub 149 is made hollow for the passage of a shaft 151 carrying at its upper end a gear pinion 152 and at itslower end a nut 153 secured on said shaft 151 and confining the hub 149 and scape wheel 150 between this nut and the gear pinion 152, the latter being of suffi-v .cient extent -toy form an upper bearing for the shaft"151 by engaging the block 143 around the journal bearing therein for the hub 149. VThe nut 153 is provided adjacent to the ratchet wheel 150 with ratchet teeth 154, which latter are engaged by a pawl 155 pivoted to the ratchet or scape wheel 150 and urged into contact with the teeth 154 by a spring 156, also carried by the wheel 150. The cam lever or pallet 146 has a side extension forming a tooth 157, the end of which is curved in an are of about inch radius. Finger 148 terminates in a depending tooth 159which overhangs tooth 157 and has its outer edge concentric with pivot 145. The teethon the wheel 150 are prismatic, as indicated in Fig. 2, so as to form bevel faces for engagement with the teeth 157 and 159. The gear pinion 152 is in normal engagement with the rack bar 61before referred to and is therefore under the normal stress of the carriage actuating spring which, although not shown in the drawings, will be understood to be present in the ma chine and which will not differ in anv material respect from the actuating springs and connections therefor usually employed in typewriters. Now, when the cam lever 146 is actuated in one direction the tooth 157 is moved on an are about the pivot 145 until it comes into the path of the lower beveled portion of one of the teeth on the ratchet or scape wheel 150, while at the same' time the tooth 159 has been elevated above this tooth. lVhen the'pallet 146 is returned to its normal position the tooth'157 is drawn from the path of the teeth on the wheel 150 and the tooth 159 is drawn down into the path of the next succeeding ratchet tooth. rllhe scape Wheel 150 is therefore permit-ted to turn a distance equal to the distance between two contiguous teeth until caught by the tooth 159. rllhis operation takes )lace each time a type lever is actuated an as will hereinafter appear, each time the space bar is actuated, and, consequently, the carriage and the paper carried thereby are fed forward the proper distance after the manner usually employed in typewriters.

At the front of the machine and located with relation to the bank of ,keys in the manner usually employed on the keyboards of typewriters, is a space-actuating-bar key 163 mounted upon a stem 164 connected near the upper and lower ends by links 165 to a fixed plate ,166 connected to the strut 27 at one end and to the down turned front end of the platform 6 at the other end, While a soft buii'er or pad 167 is connected to the lower end of the stem 164 in such manner as to engage under the strut 27 when the spacing key is returned to its normal posiiis tion and tius modify or prevent the noise lower link 165 supporting the spacing lever stem. A spring 173 is connected from the pivot point of the lever 168 to the lower link 165 and tends to maintain the spacing vlever elevated.

What is claimed is 1. In a typewriter, a vertically adjustable platen-supporting frame, an escapement mechanism including a pallet on said frame, a series of type bars pivoted in a lixed arcshap'ed segment, a universal bar mounted to reciprocate horizontally behind said segment, means 'for actuating vthe universal bar from the type bars, said pallet and universal bar being in cooperative engagement in all the positions of the platen-supporting frame.

2. ln a typewriter, a vertically adjustable platen-supporting frame, an escapement mechanism 'including a pallet on said frame, a series of type bars pivoted in a Xed arcshaped segment, a universal bar mounted to reciprocate horizontally behind said segment, means for actuating the universal bar from the type bars, said pallet and universal bar being in cooperative engagement in all Vthe positions of the platen-supporting frame,

, and means independent of the universal bar for operating the pallet in any of its adjusted positions.

3. In a typewriter, a vertically movable platen support, a series of type bars mounted in a fixed arc-shaped segment, a universal bar mounted behind said segment, said bar having a downwardly extending arm pivoted on a horizontal axis and a pair of rearwardly extending arms, pivoted at their ends to the arms of a horizontal rock shaft, means for operating said universal bar from said type bars, an escapement mechanism carried by the platen support, said mechanism including a pallet having a downwardly extending arm engaging the downwardly extending arm of said universal bar.

4. In a typewriter, a verticallyl adjustable platen .supporting frame, an escapement' mechanism carried by said frame, a series of type bars, an upwardly extending'universal bar mounted to reciprocate horizontally, separate means actuated by the respective type bars for independently actuating the universal bar, and means for transmitting motion from the universal bar to the escapement mechanism in all the positions of the platen supporting frame.

5. In a typewriter, the combination with a platen supporting frame and a scape Wheel carried thereby, of a pallet on the frame and comprising a pivoted lever, a side extension on the pivot end of the lever, atooth thereon, a finger above the extension and carried by the lever, and a tooth upon the finger and overhanging the other tooth, there being a space between the teeth to permit the passage of a tooth or'l the scape wheel when nasale@ path of a tooth of the scape wheel and being concentric with the pivot of the lever, and means for shifting the lever to remove the upper tooth of the pallet from the path of the scape wheel tooth engaged thereby, the space between the teeth of the pallet being suicient to permit the passage therethrough of a tooth of the scape wheel.

7. In a typewriter, the combination with a platen supporting frame, and a scape wheel carried thereby, of a pallet on the frame and comprising a pivoted lever, upper and lower teeth movable with the lever and spaced apart, the upper tooth having its 4active edge concentric with the pivot of the lever, and the lower tooth having a curved activeedge overhung by the upper toot-h, yielding means for holding the upper tooth normally in the path of a tooth of the scape wheel, and means for shifting the pallet to remove the upper tooth out of normal position and to bring the lower tooth into the path of the released tooth of the scape wheel, said released tooth being movable between the teeth of the pallet during the return of the pallet to normal position.

8. In a typewriter, the combination with a platen supporting frame, and a scape wheel carried thereby, of a palletAon the frame and comprising a pivoted lever having upper and lower spaced teeth, a spring held lever bearing downwardly upon the pallet'at a point removed from the pivot to hold the upper tooth of the pallet normally in the path of one of the teeth of the scape wheel, and means movable against the lever for shifting it out of normal position to release the tooth of the scape wheel from the upper tooth on' the lever and to bring .the lower tooth of the scape wheel into the path of the released tooth, said released tooth being movable between the teeth on the lever upon the return of said lever to normal position.

9. ln a typewriter, the combination with a platen supporting frame, of a scape wheel having inclined prismatic teeth upon the periphery thereof, and a pallet for controlling the rotation of the wheel, said pallet including a pivoted lever having upper and lower spaced teeth, means for holding the upper tooth normally in the path of one of the teeth of the scape wheel, said upper tooth having its active face concentric with the pivot of the lever, and means for shifting the lever to release the tooth ot' said wheel from the upper tooth of the lever and to position the lower tooth of the lever in the path of the released tooth of the scape wheel, said released tooth being movable between the teeth of the lever when the lever returns to normal position.

10. In a typewriter, the combination with a platen supporting frame, ofga scape wheel, an elongated hub thereon, a shaft journaled within the hub, a gear on one end of the shaftand adapted to be engaged by the rack bar of the platen carriage, a ratchet wheel revoluble with the shaft, ap-awl carried by the scape wheel and engagingthe ratchet wheel, a pallet having spaced teeth,yielding means for holding one of said teeth normally in the path of a tooth of the scape wheel, and means for shifting the pallet to release said tooth `of the scape wheel and bring the other tooth of the pallet into the path thereof, said pallet, when returning to normal' position, permitting the passage of the released tooth of the scape wheel be# tween the teeth on the pallet.

'11. In aV typewriter, a platenv supporting frame, an escapement mechanism including a pallet on said frame, a lever, means operated by the lever for shifting the pallet out of normal position, a depressible actuating device, parallel links constituting supportstherefor, yielding means for engaglng one of the links for holding said device normally raised, and means for transmitting motion from one of the links to the 'leven l2. In a typewriter, an escapement mechamsm mcluding a pallet, a support, a type bar pivoted within the support and having a shoulder, there being an opening in the support, a pin slidable within the opening, means for shifting the type bar to move its shoulder against the pin, and a universal bar in the path of and adapted to be actuated by the pin, said bar constituting means for actuating the pallet.

13. In a typewriter, a vertically adjustable platen supporting frame, an escapement mechanism including a pallet on said frame, a supporting bar having' openings therein, pins mounted to `slide within the openings, a -series of type bars, means for actuati g the type bars to shift the pins longitu inally, a universal bar mounted tol reciprocate horizontally, and adapted to be actuated by any one of the pins, said pallet and universal bar being in cooperative engagement in all of the positions of the platen supporting frame.

14:. In a typewriter, a movable platen support, a series of type bars mounted in a `fixed arc-shaped segment, a vuniversal bar adjacent said segment, said bar having a downwardly extending arm pivoted on a horizontaly axis' and a `pair of rearwardly extendi arms, pivoted at their ends to the arms of a horizontal rock shaft, means for operating said universal bar :from said type bars, an escapement mechanism carried by the platen support, said mechanism including a pallet having a downwardly extending arm engaging the downwardly extending .arm of said universal bar. U In testimony thatI claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

. JOHN E. MOLLE.

Witnesses:

' Ronnn'r SCHMIDT,

MARTHA CLAUssEN. 

